


Just The Way You Are

by aryasnark



Category: Cinderella (2015)
Genre: F/M, Just fluff again, you know me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aryasnark/pseuds/aryasnark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Ella gets to the palace with no magic to help her? Does she still end up spending the night with the prince, even if she won't be losing her magical glass slippers? </p>
<p>(request fic)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just The Way You Are

What had Ella expected? That her stepmother and her stepsisters would welcome her with open arms to join them at the royal palace? It had been a foolish, hopeless notion. But Ella could not have just let the opportunity pass her by. She wanted to see the apprentice, Kit, more than anything, and not only that. She wanted to get out of the house and have a good time, for once in her life. Just once.

But her stepmother and stepsisters had not agreed. They had told her that Ella would not be coming to the ball, they had called her dress rags and left with a bang of the door. Ella had stood there, frozen, on the steps, unsure of what to do now. She wanted to avoid crying. She couldn't cry. She mustn't. Crying would do her no good.

Just then she heard horse's hooves from the yard. Could it be that the carriage had come back for her? Could they have changed their minds?

Ella ran out of the house, and to her surprise, saw Flora the chef waving at her happily from inside a carriage she had rented.

"Flora!" Ella said in delight as she rushed over to her old friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up for the ball, of course", Flora said with a smile. "I knew those awful women would not let you go, but you deserve a bit of fun if you ask me. Hop in!"

Ella knew that nothing good could come out of defying her stepmother, but she could not leave the opportunity unused. So she stepped inside the carriage and took a seat next to Flora, and they were off.

"You look lovely", Flora said approvingly as she watched her friend. "Was that your mother's?"

"You remembered", Ella smiled gratefully. "You look amazing, too."

They sat in silence for a while, Ella's heart beating with excitement and anticipation.

"So tell me, Miss Ella, what are you most looking forward to about tonight?" Flora smiled. "Could it be meeting the prince?"

Ella smirked, shaking her head. "The prince is far too grand for me. I'd like to see the young man I met in the woods a while ago."

"Really?" Flora raised her eyebrows, smiling knowingly. "What's his name?"

"Kit", Ella said, feeling her heart beat faster even at the mention of the name. She remembered his sweet smile and handsome face. But at the back of her mind was the worry that her stepmother and stepsisters might stop her.

"I know what you're thinking", Flora said. "I'll try to help you the best I can with those women."

Ella nodded, but she figured the sweet woman could do nothing if push came to shove. But then again, they would be in a room filled with people. What sort of a scene could the stepmother possibly start? Ella knew she should be worried about what would happen once she'd get back home, but for now, she just wanted to focus on the night.

Kit was utterly and completely bored as he looked through the hall, waiting desperately to see her. She would come, wouldn't she? It was the reason Kit had sent the invitations to everyone. She would surely....

But the girl did not know that he was the prince. Perhaps she thought that the apprentice would not be coming to the ball. Or perhaps she did not care to see him.

"Who are you looking for?" his father's voice snapped Kit back into reality. He turned to look at his father with a small smile. 

"No one."

"It's that girl from the forest, isn't it? That's why you were so generous with the invitations."

Kit was quick to respond: "Father, it was for the people." It was partly true. 

"I know you love the people, Kit", his father said patiently. "But I also know that your head's been turned."

Kit sighed, shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "She's different. I know you don't think so, but-"

"You've only met her once, in the forest of all places", the king said. 

"And you'd have me marry someone I've met once... tonight?"

"A princess", was his father's response.

But just then Kit's attention was turned to the staircase. He watched as a pretty girl in pink slipped past the royal crier, clearly not eager for her name to be announced. Her friend, however, whispered something to the man's eager, and he only announced "Miss Flora and her lovely friend." He clearly had not thought the girl was of any importance. Merely a shy commoner. But she had not just anyone to Kit. He recognized her immediately. Her smile, her confidence, her beauty. It was her. It had to be. And so Kit walked down the stairs, ignoring the Grand Duke who was just about to introduce him to some princess. There was no time for such things.

As he walked down the steps and towards the center of the ballroom, he saw the girl notice her. The shy look on her face turned into a bright smile, and Kit felt his heart leap out of his chest. 

"Mister Kit", Ella said softly as she reached him, smiling brightly. 

Kit smiled back, looking a little taken back. "It's you, isn't it?" he asked. "The girl from the forest?"

"Ella!" They turned around to see Lady Tremaine glaring at them with an angry look on her face before Ella could have any time to respond. "What are you doing here?" she hissed through her teeth.

"Is there a problem, madam?" Kit asked sharply, looking back at the woman, who blushed once she realized that it was indeed the prince she was speaking to. 

"Your Highness, please forgive me. It's just, that girl is... is my stepdaughter, and I specifically told her not to come."

"The invitations were sent to every maiden in the kingdom", Kit said simply. "Is she not a maiden of the kingdom?"

"She is, but-"

Ella shook her head, not wanting to cause any more trouble than she already had. She curtsied quickly, absolutely horrified that she was the reason for such a scene, and even more embarrassed that her stepmother had embarrassed her in front of the prince of all people. She quickly rushed through the back door, thinking what a bad idea all of this had been.

She walked down the hall, her hands shaking a bit. She would have to walk home. It was possible her stepmother would throw her out now. What would she do then?

"Ella!" she turned around to see the prince rushing over to her with a shocked look on his face. "Where are you going?"

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness", Ella said quickly. "I had no idea who you were."

"And I'd like to have kept it that way for a little bit longer", Kit said with a small smile as he reached the lovely girl. She looked utterly terrified. "Are you alright?"

"Not really", Ella sighed. "I... I don't want to bother you with anything, please go back to the party."

"Why?" Kit asked, that wonderful smile on his face again, but his eyes were full of worry. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No!" Ella said quickly, shaking her head. "No, I just-"

"Can I show you the gardens?" Kit offered his hand, smiling encouragingly. "Perhaps that'd take your mind off of the situation."

Ella hesitated, but only for a moment. What other chance would she have to spend time with Kit, even if he was a prince and not an apprentice at all? "I'd love to."

Kit had asked Ella to tell her the truth of who she was, and she did. She told him about her parents, about her father marrying again, about Lady Tremaine and her two daughters. She sugarcoated the way they had treated her, for she was too kind to say ill words, even about them. But Kit was smart enough to figure out the situation.

"They didn't let you come to the ball, did they?" Kit asked quietly.

"No", Ella said with a small smile. "Perhaps they didn't think I was worthy of an invitation."

"Ella", Kit chuckled. They stopped by the beautiful fountain, and Ella was shocked to see that Kit was standing rather close to her. "You are the reason I invited everyone. I wanted to see you again. So they should be thanking you for even being invited in the first place."

Ella blushed deeply, looking down as she tried to find the right words to reply. What was there to say? "Thank you", she whispered. "For being so kind."

Kit smiled. Even if she was a commoner, Kit knew she was exactly who he had thought she was from the very beginning. The girl he wanted to share his life with. "Can I show you something?"

Ella looked up, nodding with a smile.

Kit's secret garden, his sanctuary, was exactly what he showed Ella. And she loved it just as much as Kit had thought she would. They ended up sitting on the swing together. There was little room for them to both fit in it, but they didn't mind the closeness. 

"Why did you lie about who you really were?" Ella asked curiously. She could feel Kit's hand on her back, and it made her feel things she did not even understand herself. How she wanted this night to go on forever.

"I didn't want you to treat me like everyone else does", Kit said. "But that was before I knew who you were. And that you would never do such a thing. You're not like other people, Ella."

Ella didn't know what to say to this. She seemed rather ordinary in her own opinion. "I do wonder about that."

"I've been thinking", Kit broke the silence after a moment. "Would you want to stay with me for tonight? I imagine your stepmother would not be the best sort of company if you went home. And tomorrow I will send the Captain to the house to inspect the situation."

"You'd do that?" Ella asked in utter confusion. Why was he being so incredibly lovely? This had to be a dream. It was the only explanation.

"I'd do it", Kit nodded, turning his face to look Ella in the eye, and in that moment they were staring into each other's eyes, their noses brushing together. "I'd do it for you."

And before either of them knew it, their lips were touching. The kiss was hesitant at first. They were both searching for something they didn't quite know how to find. But then they both smiled into the kiss, just incredibly happy to be where they were, together, and as Kit cupped Ella's face in his hands, the kiss deepened.

The next thing that happened was that they heard a loud crack. And within seconds they were on the ground, Ella laying slightly on top of Kit, both of them staring in confusion. The swing had broken under the weight of both of them. It had been rather old anyway.

"Oh, god", Kit laughed, burying his head in his hands, and he laughed even louder and happier when he heard Ella laugh, too. 

They laid there for a while, laughing, just enjoying the evening. Neither of them had expected the night to go quite like this, but they were certainly not complaining.

What came next was the hard part. Kit escorted Ella to his own bedchambers, and told the staff to look after her while he went to speak to the Captain. He told him of the situation, and gladly he agreed to help. But the hardest part was yet to be dealt with. His father and the Grand Duke.

"So what is your plan, exactly?" The Grand Duke asked in that mocking tone of his. "You'll just marry her? Because that is what you have to do! No one can hear the prince let a mere commoner spend the night in his bedchambers!"

"If she is willing, I will marry her, yes!" Kit said in anger. "What is so bloody terrible about that?"

"She is not a princess", Kit's father said with a soft voice, but he was easier to persuade than the Grand Duke. All he really wanted was his son's happiness, and he had seen the way Kit had looked at the girl, and the way she had looked back at him. It was the same sort of love he'd had with Kit's mother. Who was he to judge his son for wanting the same?

"And she is not the right princess", the Grand Duke muttered.

"What does that mean?" Kit asked impatiently.

"Nothing", the Grand Duke knew that if he were to reveal the plans of marrying him off to Princess Chelina now, it would result in nothing good. He was only hoping that the king would see reason.

"Father, please", Kit turned to look at his father with a pleading look on his face. "She's the one. I know it. And besides, I believe... I believe we need not look outside our own lands for strength or guidance", he continued, looking at the Grand Duke pointedly. "All we need is right here. And you know it, too, father."

"What we need is a good dowry", the Grand Duke said impatiently. "What is this commoner going to give us? A few lambs and a goat?"

The king had to ask no more on the subject. Perhaps his son was being foolish. Perhaps this was not the right thing to do. But he knew love when he saw it. And he knew his son would be immensely more happy with this commoner rather than with the calculative, arrogant Princess Chelina. 

"He's right", was all he said after a moment's silence.

"Thank you, Your Highness-", the Grand Duke spoke up, but the king lifted his hand.

"I meant my son", he said, his eyes on Kit. "If this is truly what you want, so be it."

Kit's heart was bursting with joy as he walked over to his father and hugged him tight. "Thank you, father. Thank you."

After Kit had left the room, on his way to his future bride, the Grand Duke spoke up, just like the king knew he would:  
"This is a terrible idea, Your Majesty."

"You know...", the king said with a calm voice, but there was no question that he would not argue about the subject any further. "I don't recall asking for your opinion."

Kit knocked on the door, and smiled softly as he heard the voice reply: "Come in!" As he closed the door behind him, he smiled at the sight of Ella sitting on the bed, wearing a night gown the servants had found for her. She looked so beautiful. She always did.

"Is everything alright?" Ella asked quietly, looking at Kit with anticipation. 

"Yes", Kit found himself saying, trying very hard not to smile, and failing miserably. "Yes! Everything's quite perfect."

As Ella returned the smile, Kit knew that this would turn out to be the best decision he had ever made in his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like this. It may not be exactly what the request was about, but I think this is okay, and I don't know, just, yeah. It might seem a bit rushed but in all honesty, it's a fairytale romance, so it's expected :)


End file.
